Gas Station Owner 'Wasn't Doing Anything' As He Sat Over Shot Teenager, Woman Says

Añadido: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]Um, again, your name is Kennedy Carson, >> correct?

[00:00:02]>> And so, just to kind of, um, move a little bit. Well, I'll give you a couple court kind of procedural pieces, then we'll I'll try to speed the process along a little bit. Um, so you got a court recorder sitting next to you. So, just need you to speak loudly enough.

[00:00:15]And if you would, uh, I know it's normal to nod your head or say mm, but if you'll say yes or no just so that, uh, we can take it down properly and that everybody on the jury can understand what you're saying.

[00:00:26]>> Sure.

[00:00:26]>> Okay. All right. So, um um your mother is Lorie Carson. Is that correct?

[00:00:31]>> Yes.

[00:00:32]>> All right. And you're the you're three siblings.

[00:00:35]>> I have three siblings.

[00:00:36]>> Okay. Where where are you in the in the fold?

[00:00:38]>> I'm her first born.

[00:00:40]>> All right. So, the more bossy.

[00:00:43]>> Yes.

[00:00:44]>> All right. Did you grow up around here?

[00:00:46]>> Yes, I did.

[00:00:46]>> What high school?

[00:00:48]>> Spring Valley.

[00:00:48]>> All right. So, you grew up on the north side northeast side?

[00:00:51]>> Yes, sir.

[00:00:52]>> Are you slightly familiar with the northeast side of Columbia?

[00:00:54]>> Very familiar.

[00:00:56]>> All right. Um, are you any relation to anybody in this case?

[00:00:59]>> No.

[00:01:01]>> And in fact, you're under subpoena to be here today?

[00:01:03]>> Yes.

[00:01:04]>> Were you a witness to some matters that took place back in uh May of 2023?

[00:01:09]>> Yes.

[00:01:10]>> All right. In May of 2023, um, were you working?

[00:01:13]>> Yes.

[00:01:14]>> What were you doing at that point?

[00:01:16]>> May of 2023, I was working for TD Bank.

[00:01:19]Still am lockbox services.

[00:01:23]>> Okay. and your experiences at TD Bank.

[00:01:26]Do you uh just talk about some of the roles you've had here before? Uh >> I've been a seller, a teller, excuse me.

[00:01:31]Um customer service representative, IT specialist. Now I'm a lockbox processor.

[00:01:37]>> So you've been there for quite some time.

[00:01:38]>> Yes.

[00:01:39]>> And and you you've dealt with the public. You've dealt with multiple roles at TD Bank.

[00:01:43]>> Yes.

[00:01:43]>> All right. Now, back in 2023, May of 2023, where were you living?

[00:01:48]>> Greenbryer Apartments.

[00:01:50]>> All right.

[00:01:52]And is that in Columbia area county?

[00:01:55]>> Yes, it is.

[00:01:56]>> Can you give give us a little bit better vantage point of where that is in Columbia?

[00:02:00]>> Um off of Springtree Road, Park Lane.

[00:02:06]Park Lane. Spring Tree, I believe.

[00:02:08]>> Okay. I'm going to show you what's already been marked 15.

[00:02:16]Going to hand that over to you. Take a look at that if you would for a moment and see if you can familiarize yourself with that photograph.

[00:02:26]>> Are you familiar with that?

[00:02:27]>> Yes.

[00:02:27]>> Tell me what that looks to be.

[00:02:29]>> Um, this looks like Spring Tree Road and the beginning of the photo is Park Lane.

[00:02:37]>> And is that the vicinity that you lived?

[00:02:39]>> Yes.

[00:02:40]>> All right. Can we publish that on the big screen, please?

[00:03:02]There we go.

[00:03:04]>> All right. So, you said um and if I could have the witness step down briefly.

[00:03:08]>> Yes.

[00:03:13]Coming down, please.

[00:03:15]So come on down here if you would. If you look up tile and give me this pointer. Tell us about where we're talking today. If you can walk me through as I ask you a couple of these questions.

[00:03:25]>> Okay.

[00:03:25]>> All right. So you see it show us Spring Road if you can from here.

[00:03:30]>> This road.

[00:03:32]>> Okay.

[00:03:32]>> That's Spring Tree. And there uh the one that runs perpendicular directly in front of that is what?

[00:03:38]>> This is park.

[00:03:40]>> All right. And you were living about where back in 2023 is back that way.

[00:03:49]>> Okay. So at the I'll say the top of the screen is the Green Bry Brier apartment complex.

[00:03:55]>> Yes.

[00:03:55]>> And that's where you were living back in 2023.

[00:03:58]>> Yes.

[00:03:58]>> All right. You could have a seat, please.

[00:04:12]So, if we concentrate specifically on May 28, 2023, can you give the jury an idea of what you were doing that day?

[00:04:19]>> Um, we had just came back from seeing the Little Mermaid.

[00:04:25]>> So, tell me who he is.

[00:04:26]>> My mother, my daughter, and my niece.

[00:04:29]>> Okay. So, you had gone to see the Little Mermaid? Yes.

[00:04:31]>> And tell us what was happening at that time.

[00:04:37]far as when we were coming back home.

[00:04:40]>> Yes. When you were coming, what were your plans for the evening after seeing little Monday?

[00:04:43]>> Okay. My mom was dropping me off, but I didn't have anything to drink at the house. So, we was going to stop by the corner store right there, that shell station to grab something to drink.

[00:04:53]>> Okay. Now, you said the corner store, excuse me, the shell station. Again, I'm showing council states 28 and I'm sorry, states 18 and 16, which are already in evidence.

[00:05:07]>> Okay. So, you talked about corner store.

[00:05:10]Let me show you stage 16 and 18 and tell me if you're familiar with those.

[00:05:16]>> Yes.

[00:05:17]>> All right. And tell me what you're seeing in those photos.

[00:05:20]>> And you can actually look it up screen.

[00:05:23]They may be up in a moment now. Publish it.

[00:05:34]This is the Shell gas station.

[00:05:36]>> Okay.

[00:05:37]>> And so that first May I have big man? So that first um video that we showed was an aerial view, meaning kind of a bird's eye view of it. This is closer in. This is the Shell station that you were uh going to that particular day that states uh 16.

[00:05:55]>> Yes. All right. And uh did you go to that shell station often?

[00:05:59]>> Yes.

[00:06:00]>> All right. Now about how many times that you could uh just kind of count in your head roughly how many times you've been inside that shell station?

[00:06:07]>> I can't count on my hands. It's been too many. Um I've lived in that area for over 3 years. So that was the gas station I frequent. Okay.

[00:06:17]>> So >> And so having been in there before, you'd um kind of had a chance to walk and look around the store. Is that fair?

[00:06:25]>> Yes.

[00:06:26]>> All right. And uh was there anything about the decorations in that store or the pictures in that store that would bring your attention to things?

[00:06:32]>> Um what's alarming is when you walk in the store, you see all the photos on the the wall.

[00:06:38]>> Okay. So, let me show you what has been marked. It says number 52.

[00:06:47]Take a look at this and tell me if you recognize if that's if you're familiar with that view.

[00:06:52]>> Yes.

[00:06:53]Tell me what you're seeing generally.

[00:06:57]>> The clerk stand and the photos.

[00:06:59]>> Okay. And you see several photos, correct?

[00:07:01]>> Yes.

[00:07:01]>> All right. May I have that back? And this stage 52 that is up on that board, the photos that you're talking about above the clerk's head. Is that a fair and accurate representation of what you would see on a daily basis or however often you shopped in that convenience store?

[00:07:14]>> Yes.

[00:07:15]>> Right. Did you have a chance to have conversations with the clerks and people who were in that store?

[00:07:21]>> Yes. Do you see any of them sitting in the courtroom today?

[00:07:25]>> Yes.

[00:07:26]>> Uh who do you see sitting in the courtroom if you know a name?

[00:07:29]>> Uh Mr. Child.

[00:07:31]>> And where is he seated?

[00:07:32]>> He's seated over there.

[00:07:35]>> And again reflect that u the defend excuse me the witness is pointing out Mr. Child.

[00:07:40]>> Yes.

[00:07:40]>> Okay. The defendant in this case.

[00:07:43]>> All right. So if we focus on the 28th um you were heading home that evening is what you said. Uh what kind of vehicle were you guys riding in? Um, BMW X5.

[00:07:53]>> Okay. BMW X5.

[00:07:54]>> Yes.

[00:07:55]>> And that was your mom's car?

[00:07:56]>> Yes, it was.

[00:07:57]>> And you said your daughter was in the car. You were in the car?

[00:08:00]>> Yes.

[00:08:00]>> Where was everybody positioned inside of that car?

[00:08:03]>> My mother was driving. My niece was in the passenger seat up front. Me and my daughter were in the back seat.

[00:08:11]>> Okay. And you were uh So, you said you're in the back seat. I'd like to uh and what if anything um occurred as you were coming home and turning on the spring tree to go to that school?

[00:08:24]>> Um we pulled into the gas station. As we were pulling in, um Cyrus was running out and behind Cyrus was his son and Mr. Chow.

[00:08:37]>> Okay. So, I'd like to show uh slide number 20 of states exhibit number four.

[00:08:53]So tell us if you recognize a vehicle that you would have been traveling in on May 28th, 2023.

[00:09:00]>> Just passing right there.

[00:09:02]>> Okay. And when you say right there, um do you need to step down or can can I Is that the one that's uh there's a >> I can describe it. There's a red sign in front of the car and then we are right behind that red sign there.

[00:09:18]>> Okay.

[00:09:20]And so as you pulled into that g did you take a ride into the gas station?

[00:09:24]>> Yes.

[00:09:25]>> All right. And what did you observe when you took a ride into the gas station?

[00:09:28]>> Cyrus was running out. Um his shoe had fell off and um he was holding his pants up with one hand and pumping his arms with the other.

[00:09:38]>> All right. And when you said he was running out, you said there were people behind him. Do you recognize in this courtroom anybody who's behind him?

[00:09:46]>> Yes.

[00:09:46]>> Uh tell us who you recognize?

[00:09:49]>> Mr. Child.

[00:09:50]>> All right. The defendant, Mr. Child.

[00:09:52]Great job.

[00:09:53]>> All right. Now, I'd like to um see and tell us what was Cyrus uh what was his demeanor as he was running away.

[00:10:03]>> His eyes were big. I mean, he was running pretty fast.

[00:10:09]>> Okay. Was it a casual stroll like you walking through the park?

[00:10:14]>> No.

[00:10:16]>> Describe or show the jury if you could with your hands what you were observing as the as Miss Cyrus came out of that store.

[00:10:29]>> Cyrus was holding his pants up like this, pumping his arms like this.

[00:10:36]You said you saw a shoe.

[00:10:37]>> Yes.

[00:10:38]>> Tell me what you Tell me about that.

[00:10:39]Explain that a little bit more.

[00:10:41]>> Before he hit Spring Road, his shoe had fell off.

[00:10:47]I'd >> like to show um slide 21 of state exhibit number four.

[00:11:01]Still, >> so based on uh slide 21106, exhibit number four, did you see a shoe?

[00:11:23]>> Yes.

[00:11:23]>> Okay. And is that a fair and accurate representation of what you viewed as you and your family were in that um car pulling into the gas station?

[00:11:32]>> Yes.

[00:11:32]>> Um can you describe about although it doesn't seem to be in the video uh where you all would have been positioned where your car would have been so you could see those things?

[00:11:41]>> Oh goodness.

[00:11:48]>> This car is kind of in the way. But um we were at the corner at the end of this parking lot area.

[00:11:56]That makes sense.

[00:12:01]>> And what was Rick Chow doing at that point?

[00:12:04]The defendant Rick Chow >> was running behind his son.

[00:12:09]>> And the son meaning Andy Child.

[00:12:11]>> Yes.

[00:12:13]>> We shall states um slide 27. I apologize from state exhibit number four.

[00:12:34]Can you describe? Well, first of all, does that vehicle look familiar to you?

[00:12:38]>> Yes.

[00:12:39]>> Whose vehicle is that?

[00:12:40]>> That's my mother's.

[00:12:41]>> All right. And you were inside of that vehicle?

[00:12:44]>> Yes, I am.

[00:12:44]>> Tell us what you saw.

[00:12:46]>> Um, so Cyrus was running out. His shoe came off. He was pumping his arms and holding his pants with the other arm. He crossed the street and he tripped over the curb.

[00:12:58]At that time, he got back up.

[00:13:02]Um, I see Mr. Child step out. He had his arms up and then we see Cyrus fall again to the ground. He kind of like crawled basically um to the place where he passed.

[00:13:22]And I'm going to go back through that with you slowly. I want to show you something real quick before we go to this next portion. I'm going to show you uh states because it's not take a look at that if you will, please.

[00:13:44]Does that look familiar to you?

[00:13:45]>> Yes. Uh, >> tell me what it looks to be a still shot of >> It looks to see um there's a still shot of Andy in front of his father and me and my family in the car and um Andy and his father are running.

[00:14:01]>> Is it fair to say it's a still shot of the video we just watched?

[00:14:04]>> Yes.

[00:14:04]>> All right. I'd like to interstate 72 in evidence.

[00:14:08]>> Objection.

[00:14:09]>> No objection. All right. State 72 without objection. May we publish that, please?

[00:14:13]>> Yes, sir.

[00:14:18]>> All right.

[00:14:20]So, as Andy and Rick are running after Cyrus, you said you saw the shoe come off.

[00:14:28]>> Yes.

[00:14:28]>> You said that you saw a little bit farther down the road Cyrus trip or fall multiple times.

[00:14:34]>> Yes.

[00:14:35]>> Okay. Now, let's talk a little bit more.

[00:14:36]You said that you saw um him standing.

[00:14:40]go back through that. I don't I do not want to put words in your mouth.

[00:14:43]>> Um sure. Um so we pull in. Um we stop right where you see us. Um they run across. Um Cyrus trips over the curb and he gets back up.

[00:14:59]We see Mr. the child go and step out, put his arms up and Cyrus trips again and kind of gets back up, but he's like a crawl to where he passed away.

[00:15:12]>> What if anything did you see in Cyrus Carmicha Belton's hands when he ran past you?

[00:15:18]>> Nothing. So, when he was in the parking lot, well, running out the parking lot, he had his like bag right here. when he tripped the first time, he didn't have his book bag anymore. Um, when he was in the parking lot running, he was pumping his arms. It was visible and he was running.

[00:15:38]>> And from your vantage point, could you see if there was anything in his hands?

[00:15:42]>> There wasn't anything in his hands.

[00:15:44]>> I'm going to show you what's been marked in states exhibit number 20.

[00:15:55]Can I hand that to you?

[00:15:56]>> Yes, sir.

[00:15:58]>> Does that vantage point look familiar to you?

[00:16:00]>> Yes.

[00:16:04]>> Is that where you observed um all of the goings on on Springtree Road? Yes.

[00:16:10]>> On May 28th, 2023?

[00:16:12]>> Yes.

[00:16:12]>> Is that where you just testified you saw Rick uh Child, the defendant in this case, and the son Andy chasing after Cyrus?

[00:16:20]>> Yes.

[00:16:20]>> Is that where you saw that shoe fly off?

[00:16:22]>> Yes. Is that where you saw him Cyrus fall in the backpack fell?

[00:16:27]>> Yes.

[00:16:28]>> Is that where you saw after he tripped him he being Cyrus tripped over that curve Rick do some kind of motion with his hands?

[00:16:34]>> Yes.

[00:16:37]>> Come on. Thank you.

[00:16:40]>> What did you see him do with his hands at that point in time?

[00:16:44]>> Meaning the defendant general.

[00:16:46]>> Oh, okay. So after Cyrus tripped, he had his hands like this, you know.

[00:16:54]Um, if I can move this down.

[00:17:01]>> Can I move this step down here?

[00:17:06]>> Come on down, please.

[00:17:10]>> I'm going sit in front. Thank you. All right. Please continue.

[00:17:16]Okay. Um, if the jury is my vantage point this way.

[00:17:22]>> Okay.

[00:17:24]And excuse me. So, um, defendant child's right here. So, where was Cyrus positioned?

[00:17:33]>> Cyrus was in front of him.

[00:17:35]>> Okay.

[00:17:35]>> Where turn we all facing the same way.

[00:17:38]>> You turn turn me in the direction of of where Cyrus would have been facing.

[00:17:44]Okay.

[00:17:45]>> Mhm.

[00:17:46]>> Yeah. Maybe a little lower cuz he had tripped and he was coming back up.

[00:17:50]>> Yeah.

[00:17:51]>> More like that.

[00:17:52]>> Yes, sir.

[00:17:52]>> Or you still you can lead with words and you can lead with actions and I objected either way.

[00:18:00]>> Your honest lower.

[00:18:04]>> So if I'm getting lower more like this or more like this?

[00:18:08]>> More like that.

[00:18:09]>> All right. And so as And is that when you tell us what you saw when you saw him lower in the position that I was just in?

[00:18:18]>> He tripped and he's coming back up.

[00:18:20]>> Right. So I'm positioning myself again somewhere in here.

[00:18:24]>> Yes. He was on his way back up. Mr. Chow is already like this.

[00:18:29]>> Did you see Cyrus Carmarmac turn around at any point?

[00:18:34]>> No.

[00:18:35]>> Did you see him point anything at Rick Chow or Andy Chow at any point? No.

[00:18:42]>> Did you hear anything?

[00:18:46]>> There's a lot going on. My mom was in the car and looking at you.

[00:18:54]>> My mom was in the car a little hysterical.

[00:18:57]Um she was she said, "Is that a gunshot?"

[00:19:02]And I didn't really want to be involved with this. And I I was like, "No, that wasn't that wasn't a shot. That wasn't a shot." We had the windows rolled up and so it was muffled.

[00:19:14]>> Okay.

[00:19:15]>> Yeah.

[00:19:15]>> But even with the windows being rolled up and it being muffled, did that interrupt what you saw with your eyes?

[00:19:20]>> No.

[00:19:21]>> From the vantage point that you saw it, >> no.

[00:19:27]Now, your mother eventually, excuse me, drove down to the incident location.

[00:19:43]>> Yes.

[00:19:44]>> All right. And uh and came back. There was there a conversation of some sort that took place between she and anybody?

[00:19:51]>> Yes.

[00:19:52]>> You guys were still in the car?

[00:19:54]>> Yes.

[00:19:54]>> Okay. Who did she speak with?

[00:19:55]>> Mr. Child.

[00:19:56]>> All right. And did she come back to the scene for a brief moment?

[00:20:01]>> Yeah. Um, she circled around. Um, so after the incident took place, she drove down some and she asked Mr. Child, "Did anybody need help? Is anybody hurt?"

[00:20:13]>> So, don't tell me what he said, but after that conversation, the driving took place.

[00:20:17]>> Yes. And she turned back around.

[00:20:20]We turned around and parked. May I show states? I'm sorry. Slide number 30 of um defense number four.

[00:20:43]>> What do you see there?

[00:20:44]>> That's my mom whipping the car around.

[00:20:49]>> Who do you see walking past that car?

[00:20:52]I guess that's Miss Child. I don't really I'm not too familiar with her.

[00:20:55]Okay. All right.

[00:20:59]>> And is that the point you went back down to the scene?

[00:21:02]>> Yes.

[00:21:02]>> All right. And what happened when you went back down to the scene? I think you said I don't want to put words around.

[00:21:07]Did you say you parked?

[00:21:09]>> Yes, we parked.

[00:21:10]>> Okay. All right. And after you parked, um, what happened? Let's talk generally about what happened. Now, be careful.

[00:21:16]Don't tell me what other people said, but just tell me what you did. Uh we parked uh my mom hopped out. I hopped out the car >> and we went down to the scene.

[00:21:26]>> Okay. Uh what did you observe with your eyes?

[00:21:30]>> Uh Mr. Child was sitting over um Cyrus.

[00:21:38]>> Yeah. He wasn't doing anything. He was just sitting there.

[00:21:43]And did you interact with uh what what was the scene like? Were people what was the scene like when you were out there?

[00:21:52]>> Um my mom made it down there before me and when I was walking down there was another young lady. We kind of just walked down at the same time.

[00:22:01]>> Okay. What was Cyrus doing?

[00:22:03]>> Cyrus was laying there.

[00:22:06]>> What was uh defendant Rick Child doing?

[00:22:09]He was just sitting there just looking at him.

[00:22:13]>> What if anything was the son doing and each other?

[00:22:15]>> He was standing off. He didn't move after the incident happened. He was still >> Did you observe anything around the scene?

[00:22:25]>> Um there was um a gun by a tree over there. Um Cyrus didn't have his book bag and um there's Mr. child and Cyrus over there.

[00:22:40]>> Yeah.

[00:22:42]>> And do you know who that gun belonged to?

[00:22:45]>> No.

[00:22:47]>> Did you see a gun in uh in in Cyrus's hand at any point in time?

[00:22:51]>> No.

[00:23:02]>> Courts of adults. Yes, sir.

[00:23:22]Now, couple more questions.

[00:23:26]Could you tell any type of um just the sizes of the people who were involved in this entire incident that they were talking about?

[00:23:36]>> Sure.

[00:23:36]>> Okay. Tell us what you could observe.

[00:23:39]>> Andy is much taller than his father.

[00:23:43]Cyrus is much shorter than Andy.

[00:23:47]I don't >> Yeah. No, you you've um and I don't want to make this personal, so I'll try to ask this as gingerly as I can. Um, how old Cyrus look?

[00:24:00]>> I thought Cyrus was like 16.

[00:24:04]>> Yeah, that was I thought he was 16.

[00:24:06]>> He looked like a grown man.

[00:24:07]>> No, he looked like a child.

[00:24:13]>> All questions have Thank you.

[00:24:32]We have 27.

[00:24:41]>> It's a sto across the garden. I was going to see that Let me show you what's up 72.

[00:25:50]So that's your automobile that you were in.

[00:25:54]>> Yes.

[00:25:55]>> And where were you in that?

[00:25:57]>> I'm in the back seat. Um it would be on the passenger side.

[00:26:03]>> Passenger side.

[00:26:04]>> Yes.

[00:26:04]>> So that would be to the left side.

[00:26:10]>> Well, the right side is the passenger side.

[00:26:14]>> Okay.

[00:26:15]So, all right. So, are you on the left side?

[00:26:18]>> I'm on the I'm in the back seat on the right side.

[00:26:20]>> Okay.

[00:26:21]>> And and this photograph states exhibit 72. That pretty much the way the thing looked that even.

[00:26:33]>> Yes.

[00:26:35]>> And it was that dark. It was 8:00 at night.

[00:26:38]>> It was bright outside.

[00:26:39]>> Bright outside.

[00:26:42]Okay.

[00:26:44]And um you know the distance well your automobile stopped um in the parking lot. Yes.

[00:26:56]>> Yes. Well, right turning into the entrance.

[00:26:59]>> Okay. There was a bush there on the side and you pulled up to that bush.

[00:27:03]>> Yes.

[00:27:03]>> And you saw these three people run past.

[00:27:05]>> Yes.

[00:27:07]>> And nobody had a gun.

[00:27:09]>> No.

[00:27:10]>> You heard no yelling.

[00:27:13]No cursing.

[00:27:14]>> No, >> you just saw three people run past.

[00:27:17]>> Yes.

[00:27:18]>> Now, you said that you saw the first person who you described as called Cyrus. You you described that he was appeared to be pulling up his pants.

[00:27:30]>> Holding his pants.

[00:27:31]>> Could he have been holding a pistol in his waistband?

[00:27:34]>> No.

[00:27:35]>> How do you know?

[00:27:36]>> You seen the pants in his hand?

[00:27:38]>> I see. Well, didn't he have a long hoodie on? Red hoodie. He had a hoodie on. He's still holding your pants. You can still see him holding his pants.

[00:27:47]>> Did you know he had a pistol?

[00:27:48]>> No.

[00:27:50]>> You didn't know anybody else had a pistol?

[00:27:52]>> No.

[00:27:54]>> And the um windows in your vehicle were rolled up.

[00:28:00]>> I'm sorry.

[00:28:01]>> The windows in the vehicle that you were in were rolled up.

[00:28:04]>> Yes, they were.

[00:28:07]>> And the uh you saw his The you saw Cyrus's shoe come off?

[00:28:13]>> Yes.

[00:28:15]>> Did you see him throw things left and right as he ran across the parking lot?

[00:28:20]>> No.

[00:28:20]>> Didn't see him throw cell phones?

[00:28:22]>> No. Did >> you see him throw the backpack down the road?

[00:28:25]>> He didn't throw the backpack. He tripped and fell. When he got back up, the backpack wasn't on him anymore.

[00:28:31]>> Had it been on his shoulders?

[00:28:33]>> It was on the shoulders.

[00:28:34]>> Okay.

[00:28:36]And um now the distance from where your vehicle was and your vehicle would stayed in the same stationary position, same spot until after you fell down. Is that correct?

[00:28:53]>> Yes.

[00:28:54]>> And fell down and didn't get up.

[00:28:56]>> Correct.

[00:28:57]>> And and would it surprise you to know that that's 130 yards?

[00:29:02]>> Okay. I mean, you wouldn't quarrel with that number, would you?

[00:29:06]>> I wouldn't know the distance if I seen it.

[00:29:10]>> Okay.

[00:29:12]>> So, it's longer than a football field.

[00:29:14]So, if you're standing at one end of a football field, it's even further than that.

[00:29:18]>> I can see down a football field.

[00:29:20]>> Okay. And and but as you described and exhibited here, these people that were 130 yards away, Mr. Chow had his back to you.

[00:29:34]as did uh you couldn't see Mr. Belton.

[00:29:38]You couldn't see what he had in his hands, could you?

[00:29:41]>> I seen what Cyrus had in his hands when he ran across, >> right? Anything in his hands? That's not my question.

[00:29:47]>> When he got back up from tripping, his hands were he was like crawling when he crawled. So, his hands were on the ground.

[00:29:55]>> All right. But when he started to get up and and you said, I think in your uh you and your mother made a 911 call, didn't you?

[00:30:06]>> Yes.

[00:30:07]>> You remember telling the dispatcher he might have got shot? I'm not sure.

[00:30:12]>> Yeah, it was a lot going on. I was processing my emotions.

[00:30:15]>> You remember telling the dispatcher uh that you believed he might have stolen something.

[00:30:20]>> That's what was being said.

[00:30:24]Uh, you told the dispatcher, "I don't know who shot him."

[00:30:27]>> I did say, "I don't know who shot him."

[00:30:30]>> You, uh, so you also testify a few moments ago that, let's see, that you saw him trip multiple times.

[00:30:49]>> Correct. He tripped twice >> and crawled to where he passed.

[00:30:54]>> Correct.

[00:30:56]>> You You did not include that detail in your 911 call.

[00:31:01]>> I didn't.

[00:31:03]>> Do you remember talking to officers uh officer uh Carter, I believe, or deputy? I believe it's uh English or Carter. Do you remember speaking to officers at the scene?

[00:31:22]>> Yes.

[00:31:23]>> You didn't include that detail. You never told either one of them that you saw this gun that you saw him shot and crawled to where he died. You didn't include that in your explanation to them of what you've just seen. And this was something that was moments before.

[00:31:42]>> Yes, I did.

[00:31:44]>> Well, you want to You think you did? I know I didn't.

[00:31:48]>> Well, I'll be happy for you to find it in this transcript, but if you think you did, you think you did?

[00:31:56]>> I think I did, too. I know I did.

[00:32:00]>> When you went to the sheriff's department on July the 25th of 2023.

[00:32:04]>> Mhm.

[00:32:07]>> Did you tell that detail to that investigator as well?

[00:32:10]>> I was asked um far as vantage point. I wasn't asked what happened. In fact, nobody asked you any questions about what happened.

[00:32:18]>> No, they wanted to know vantage point of where I was. And >> they wanted you to draw a diagram, didn't they?

[00:32:24]>> Go ahead. Sorry.

[00:32:26]>> You better finish.

[00:32:30]>> They ask you to draw a diagram.

[00:32:32]>> Yes.

[00:32:33]>> Did they question you about anything about what you saw?

[00:32:38]>> No.

[00:32:38]>> Did they question you about how far away you were? They asked where I was and to draw the vantage point of what I seen.

[00:32:46]>> Okay.

[00:32:48]>> And you didn't volunteer anything like you testified to today?

[00:32:52]>> No.

[00:33:32]So before I sit down, let me get one more Clarification here.

[00:33:41]When you saw these three people run past your vehicle, did you know that the third person in line, the person following the tall younger man was Mr. Child?

[00:33:57]>> Yes.

[00:33:58]>> You knew him to be the store owner?

[00:33:59]>> Yes.

[00:34:01]But in the 911 call, you recall saying I don't know who shot it.

[00:34:08]>> I Yes, I said that. I was pro. I didn't want to be involved. When my mom stopped the vehicle, I told her to keep going because I did not want to be involved.

[00:34:19]My mom called 911 and she handed me the phone.

[00:34:22]>> Okay.

[00:34:22]>> And my mom has been hysterical in the back and I know I have to be calm and process what I see. I did not want to be involved. Thus the reason why I said I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

[00:34:34]Cuz I didn't want to be involved.

[00:34:36]>> But in the 911 call and on the scene, you didn't tell the police that you saw Mr. Chow shoot anybody.

[00:34:43]>> I didn't want to be involved. I was made to be involved.

[00:34:54]>> Thank you.

[00:34:55]>> Anything on redirect? Yes, sir.

[00:34:59]Now, there's a set of questions about the statement that you gave gave. Isn't it true that you gave a statement to the police, a written statement on the 28th?

[00:35:08]>> Yes.

[00:35:08]>> Of um May 2023?

[00:35:12]>> Yes. They called me back. I went home and they called me back to make the statement.

[00:36:07]That's smart for ID purposes only.

[00:36:31]Hello.

[00:36:52]Please make sure we get it right.

[00:37:00]>> 80 >> 82 82.

[00:37:14]Now, you asked a series of questions.

[00:37:16]I'm going to show you states exhibit 82 for ID purposes only. Um, let me take a look at that and tell us if you recognize that.

[00:38:03]You recognize the document?

[00:38:04]>> Yes.

[00:38:04]>> Whose handwriting is that? this handwriting. I believe it was the officer that I was speaking with, but that's my signature at the bottom.

[00:38:11]>> That's your signature at the bottom.

[00:38:13]>> So, this is uh what you told the officer what the officer wrote down in your signature.

[00:38:18]>> Yes.

[00:38:18]>> And in this statement, it says when it says uh you're making this statement freely, free and free, I can't read today. I make this statement of my own free will and accord without reward or intimidation. All of the above is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Do you see that written on that document?

[00:38:36]>> Yes.

[00:38:37]>> Okay. So then on at 21:23 um military time so I do my math I can't do math. 9:23 >> yes >> on 52823 you gave a statement to them.

[00:38:51]>> Yes.

[00:38:52]>> All right. And the question did you see a kid with a kid with a gun? Answer no.

[00:38:56]When he was running he was holding his pants up. Is that what that say is?

[00:38:59]>> Is that what that says?

[00:39:00]>> Yes.

[00:39:01]>> Okay. Did you see any weapons on the ground? The answer is yes. The gun by the tree. Did you see how the gun got there? Answer is no. Do you remember saying those things?

[00:39:09]>> Yes.

[00:39:10]>> Um, did you hear the owner say anything about the kid? Answer, you say no. Did you hear anyone say anything about being shot? Answer is no. Do you remember saying those things?

[00:39:20]>> Yes.

[00:39:20]>> And do you remember in this here saying that you heard a pot?

[00:39:24]>> Yes.

[00:39:24]>> You saw the kid fall down?

[00:39:26]>> Yes.

[00:39:27]>> Uh, you called 911.

[00:39:29]>> Yes. Yes.

[00:39:30]>> You parked the car and you walked and the owner was shaking him trying to wake him up.

[00:39:34]>> Yes.

[00:39:34]>> You remember saying that?

[00:39:35]>> Yes.

[00:39:36]>> You said that you saw people run out of the store.

[00:39:38]>> Yes.

[00:39:38]>> The kid, the store owner.

[00:39:40]>> Yes.

[00:39:40]>> The owner and his wife.

[00:39:42]>> His wife came after Mr. Child.

[00:39:44]>> And that you followed on Spring Tree >> and the son and the corner and the son and the owner had the kid boxed in.

[00:39:50]>> Yes.

[00:39:51]>> The kid fell down and they were in arms reach of him and that's when I heard the pop.

[00:39:56]>> You said that?

[00:39:56]>> Yes, I And you said that on May 28th, 2023. Correct?

[00:40:01]>> Yes.

[00:40:01]>> At 9:23 in the evening, correct?

[00:40:04]>> Yes.

[00:40:05]>> And that was about an hour and some change after this incident took place.

[00:40:10]Right.

[00:40:11]>> Yes.

[00:40:11]>> All right. I'd like to show slide 21, please. Stakes exhibit number four.

[00:40:20]And while we're doing that, there's this question about 130 yards. Uh, did you measure?

[00:40:25]>> I didn't measure. Uh, do you know if the 130 yards is from the front door of the store or from the tip of the property when it goes off of their property onto the public road with Spring Tree?

[00:40:35]>> I don't know where they were, >> but did you have a clear vantage point?

[00:40:38]>> I seen it all.

[00:40:41]>> All right. to a police officer glass is hard to see. Is it light or dark outside?

[00:41:06]>> It's light.

[00:41:08]>> That's a Fahrenheit accurate representation of what The weather conditions were like at 8:02 or so on May 28th, 2023.

[00:41:17]>> Yes.

[00:41:18]>> Was not dark.

[00:41:19]>> It was not dark. It was dark at 9:22.

[00:41:24]>> Now, you said in your direct you saw the child pointing at Cyrus.

[00:41:30]>> Yes.

[00:41:31]>> Cyrus was on on his knees on I mean, excuse me, getting up on the ground.

[00:41:35]>> Yes.

[00:41:36]>> And not too long after that, you realize that he had been shot.

[00:41:39]>> Yes.

[00:41:40]And he passed away out there.

[00:41:42]>> Yes, he did.

[00:41:50]>> Do you know who shot him?

[00:41:52]>> Mr. Child shot him.

[00:41:58]>> Thank you, honor.

[00:42:01]So I noticed in this statement that you gave you say I pulled into the store with my mom and I saw four people run out of the store.

[00:42:15]>> Four people.

[00:42:19]The kid, the son of the store owner, the owner and his wife.

[00:42:25]>> Yes. She picks the shoe up. But you say here that you saw four people run out of the store.

[00:42:31]>> Yeah. So Cyrus then his son and Mr. Child and few seconds after that >> was his wife.

[00:42:40]>> You don't you didn't say that. You didn't know that these videos existed when you gave this statement.

[00:42:46]>> Yes, I did. This camera is all around that story.

[00:42:48]>> I'm sorry.

[00:42:48]>> This camera is all around that store.

[00:42:50]Oh.

[00:42:50]>> So you knew that there was going to be a video that would accurately reflect what really happened, not what you want. I didn't know this was going to take place at all.

[00:42:57]>> Okay.

[00:42:59]>> And and then you uh you say in the statement the kid fell down and they were all in arms reach of him and and I that's when I heard a pop, >> right?

[00:43:11]>> Yes.

[00:43:12]>> You didn't say that you saw the pop.

[00:43:15]>> I can't you see a pop.

[00:43:16]>> Well, you didn't say you saw a gun. You said the boy got up and tried to run and he fell back down.

[00:43:25]You never said you saw Mr. Child shoot this young man. You never said you could see the young boy's hands and that he didn't have a gun because you couldn't see him.

[00:43:38]>> That wasn't asked at that time. You see the question on that document. It wasn't asked.

[00:43:44]>> Well, but you were there to make sure that you tell the story.

[00:43:48]>> I was answering the questions I was asked.

[00:43:50]>> I see.

[00:43:52]Well, nobody was in a hurry to finish, were they?

[00:43:55]>> It was a lot going on. I was in a hurry to leave because I didn't want to be involved. My daughter was there, my niece was there, my mom was hysterical.

[00:44:03]It was a lot going on.

[00:44:06]>> And and there's nothing in here about uh this young man crawling to die.

[00:44:12]>> I stated that he got back up when he he passed away after this the second time he fell. That's when he crawled over to his passing point.

[00:44:22]>> Well, ma'am, what you said is if you need the statement, I can provide it to you.

[00:44:29]>> You want to read along with me?

[00:44:30]>> I don't.

[00:44:31]>> You don't.

[00:44:32]>> I don't.

[00:44:32]>> Well, I want to make sure that this is a fair opportunity to uh give up midway on that first page under a colon, a sentence that begins with owner.

[00:44:52]You say in in the next sentence, the kid fell down and they were all in arms reach of him. And that's when I heard the pop. The boy got back up and tried to run and he fell back down.

[00:45:04]>> Yes.

[00:45:06]>> No crawling.

[00:45:08]>> He tried to run.

[00:45:10]>> No, Mr. Chow.

[00:45:11]>> He fell back down. I wasn't asked that.

[00:45:15]>> Okay.

[00:45:18]They asked me what I see.

[00:45:20]>> And um on the second page, you were asked, >> you say you saw a gun by the tree?

[00:45:29]>> Yes.

[00:45:31]>> And and the tree you're referring to would have been within a couple of feet or a foot of where this young man died.

[00:45:39]>> It wasn't a foot. Um was closer to the road, but that's where the gun was found.

[00:45:44]>> Right. And you were asked, did you see how the gun got there? And your answer was, >> no.

[00:45:49]>> No.

[00:45:53]>> Thank you.

[00:45:55]All right. All done.

[00:45:59]>> Yes, sir.

[00:46:00]>> All right, Miss Carter, you can step down. Thanks for being here. Testing.